"The helmet Heraskevych wore during training, and intended to wear during his event, featured photos of more than 20 Ukrainian athletes and coaches who have died in the war. But on Thursday, just before he was scheduled to compete, the International Olympic Committee disqualified Heraskevych from the Games, pointing to a rule that prohibits certain acts of self-expression."
""There are 130 conflicts going on in the world," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said. "We cannot have 130 different conflicts featured, however terrible they are, during the field of play, during the actual competition." Adams said he would encourage Heraskevych to "express his grief" in other ways."
"This week's decision underscores the uneasy-and inconsistent-balance the Olympic Games have tried to strike between maintaining an air of apolitical harmony and recognizing the humanity of the competitors, many of whom live and train under conditions of violence or persecution. Heraskevych has described the deaths memorialized on his helmet as " the price of our dignity.""
More than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed since the 2022 invasion. Vladyslav Heraskevych planned to honor over 20 of the dead with photos on his training and competition helmet. The International Olympic Committee disqualified him just before his event, citing a rule that restricts certain acts of self-expression during competition. An IOC spokesperson said featuring conflicts during the field of play is not permissible and suggested other ways to express grief. The IOC said a black armband during the run and revealing the helmet afterward would have been acceptable; Heraskevych appealed.
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